22 September 2011

A body at rest tends to stay at rest, a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

Wow, I feel almost human today after a shower.  I'm taking yesterday as a lesson on the abuse of prescription drugs.  I really didn't need the narcotics for pain relief, I just wanted to sleep.  I felt like crap for a whole day plus afterward. But I'm not really sure why I feel like crap.  Is it post-surgery healing?  Ennui? Stress?  Or the fact that up to last week I was walking 30 + miles a week and now, nada.  I'm so thankful I thought to step up the program because I really feel it's made a huge difference in my strength and sanity.

Pain hasn't really been a problem.  One would think that this sort of thing would hurt a lot but what I'm feeling is more akin to discomfort.  I occasionally get a twang that surges through some pissed-off nerve but I assume that will calm down with time.  I'm sore like I worked out too hard, and it is unrelenting, but not unmanageable.

Basically I feel better when I get up and out so I will resume my walking tomorrow.  I may eschew hills, as that puts a little strain on my core, but there's no reason why I shouldn't relieve my boredom and lethargy by getting out and doing what I like to do most.  Likewise I was released to start my therapy - post-mastectomy exercises - today, so I can enjoy the pleasures of recreational stretching as well.

I did see both of my surgeons today, and I'll have to detail that in a later post.  I still need to digest some information and even though I was really good and had ice cream afterward, it kind of wiped me out.

A word about the pain ball:
The OnQ pain ball I had was a small double catheter laid under the skin attached to a pressurized ball full of topical numbing agent.  It automatically washed the surgery area with the numbing agent 24/7 for 72 hours after surgery.  Basically I couldn't feel anything.  It wasn't until my pain ball ran out that I started to feel the funky tingly area down the back of my left arm.